Nutrient formulation and process for feeding young poultry and other animals

ABSTRACT

A nutrient formulation including moisture which is designed for use in poultry and other animals, and a method of feeding it which improves subsequent livability, cumulative feed efficiency and weight gain is disclosed. The method comprises making available for consumption ad libitum a high moisture material containing at least about 20% by weight water to the poultry or other animals before they are offered dry food ad libitum.

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.08/597,815, now abandoned, filed Feb. 7, 1996 which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/483,297, filed Jun.7, 1995, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a high moisture material forproviding nutrients, drugs, vitamins, minerals, bile salts, surfactants,probiotics, enzymes, peptides, hormones, prostaglandins, antioxidants,living cells, and immunoactive agents to poultry and other animals, andmore particularly, a high moisture material and process which may beused to improve the health and enhance the livability, cumulative weightgain and feed conversion efficiency of poultry and other animals.

For economic reasons, the management of chick hatching in commercialfacilities places high importance on percent chicks hatched of eggs set.To achieve hatch rates of 90%, early-hatching birds are often left inthe hatch incubator for a period of time to allow the later-hatchingchicks to emerge and dry. By the time the chicks are removed from theincubator tray, therefore, they will range in age from several hours upto about 2 days in age (as measured from hatching for each bird). Thisperiod is referred to as the post-hatch holding period.

After the chicks are removed from the incubator trays in a commercialhatchery, they are processed (inoculated and sexed) and then placed inboxes commonly referred to as chick boxes for shipping to the productionfarm. The processing period typically requires several hours and thechicks may reside in the chick boxes for several more hours beforetransit to the production farm actually begins.

Commercial hatcheries for poultry typically provide chicks for a numberof production farms, often over a wide geographical area. Typically,feed and water are not provided until the birds reach the productionfarm and, as a result, the birds may go several days before feed andwater are provided. The presence of the lipid-rich residual yolk sac andreserves of lipid in the liver, however, ensure that the minimalnutritional needs of hatchling birds are met (Freeman et al.,Development of the Avian Embryo, London, Chapman and Hall, 1974). Thus,a period of inanition after hatching is normal in birds and does notnecessarily threaten their survival (Entenman et al., The Lipid Contentof Blood, Liver, and Yolk Sac of the Newly Hatched Chick and the ChangesThat Occur in These Tissues During the First Month of Life, J. BiolChem., Vol. 133, pp. 231-241 (1940); Vanheel et al., Resorption of YolkLipids by the Pigeon Embryo, Comp. Biochem. Physiol., Vol. 68A pp.641-646 (1981); Phelps et al., The Posthatch Physiology of the TurkeyPoult-III. Yolk Depletion and Serum Metabolites, Comp. Biochem.Physiol., Vol. 87A, No. 2 pp. 409-415 (1987); Noble et al., LipidChanges in the Residual Yolk and Liver of the Chick Immediately afterHatching, Biol Neonate, Vol. 56, pp. 228-236 (1989); Chamblee et al,Yolk Sac Absorption and Initiation of Growth in Broilers, PoultryScience, Vol. 72, pp. 1811-1816 (1992)). This does not mean, however,that using yolk residue as the single nutrient source in hatchlings willprovide optimum subsequent livability, disease resistance, or gain andfeed efficiency. The delayed placement has been shown to reducesubsequent livability (Kingston, Some Hatchery Factors Involved in EarlyChick Mortality, Australian Veterinary Jour., Vol. 55, pp. 418-421(1979); Fanguy et al., Effect of Delayed Placement on Mortality andGrowth Performance of Commercial Broilers, Poultry Science, Vol. 59, pp.1215-1220 (1980)), disease resistance (Wyatt et al., Influence ofHatcher Holding Times on Several Physiological Parameters AssociatedWith the Immune System of Chickens, Poultry Science, Vol. 65, pp.2156-2164 (1986); Casteel et al., The Influence of Extended PosthatchHolding Time and Placement Density on Broiler Performance, PoultryScience, Vol. 73, pp. 1679-1684 (1994)) and growth performance (Hager etal., Education and Production Posthatch Incubation Time and Early Growthof Broiler Chickens, Poultry Science, Vol. 62, pp. 247-254 (1983); Wyattet al., Influence of Egg Size, Eggshell Quality, and Posthatch HoldingTime on Broiler Performance, Poultry Science, Vol. 64, pp. 2049-2055(1985); Pinchasov et al., Comparison of Post-Hatch Holding Time andSubsequent Early Performance of Broiler Chicks and Turkey Poults,British Poultry Science, Vol. 34, pp. 111-120 (1993)). Provision ofindividual nutrients such as glucose has not been found to consistentlyor permanently improve performance or livability when administered as asimple solution in the absence of other nutrients (Azahan et al.,Growth, Food Intake and Energy Balance of Layer and Broiler ChickensOffered Glucose in the Drinking Water and the Effect of Dietary ProteinContent, British Poultry Science, Vol. 30, pp. 907-917 (1989); Moran,Effects of Posthatch Glucose on Poults Fed and Fasted During Yolk SacDepletion, Poultry Science, Vol. 68, pp. 1141-1147 (1989); Moran Effectsof Egg Weight, Glucose Administration at Hatch, and Delayed Access toFeed and Water on the Poult at 2 Weeks of Age, Poultry Science, Vol. 69,pp. 1718-1723 (1990)).

Although provision of water and feed can result in performance superiorto that of fasted, water-deprived birds, attempts to include water inthe hatch incubator or in transport boxes have been unsuccessful. Thisis because humidity control and relatively high temperature are criticalin ensuring high hatchability and because water alone or in a simplegruel can escape, resulting in some chicks getting wet. Chicks cannotregulate their body temperature sufficiently well to tolerate cooling byevaporation. Since inanition does not threaten survival, commercialpractice is not to offer feed or water until the animals reach the farm.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Among the objects of the invention, therefore, may be noted theprovision of a high moisture material to improve the health and enhancethe livability, cumulative weight gain and feed conversion efficiency ofpoultry and other animals. The formulation may be fed, for example,immediately after hatching or birth of the animal and for thisapplication, the formulation preferably excludes nutrients which are notused well during the first days of life and provides those which arereadily used and confer a performance advantage. Also among the objectsof the invention is a formulation which is stabilized against microbialgrowth, is resistant to synthesis and which can be packaged in bulk,shipped, extruded (with or without prior remixing of the bulk material)and divided into dosage unit form at the location of use of theformulation.

Briefly, therefore, the present invention is directed to a process forenhancing the health, livability, cumulative weight gain or feedconversion efficiency of poultry. The process comprises feeding thehatchlings a high moisture material before they are started on a dietcomprising dry food. The hatchlings are fed the high moisture materialbeginning at a point in time preferably within the first 5 days ofhatching, more preferably within the first 3 days of hatching.

The present invention is also directed to a composition and process forinoculating poultry and other animals with living cells such as yeast orbacteria. The animal is fed a high moisture material which contains anumber of colony forming units of the cells which is sufficient toinoculate the animal and produce the desired effect.

The present invention is also directed to high moisture materials forenhancing the health, livability, cumulative weight gain or feedconversion efficiency of poultry. These high moisture materials containat least about 50% by weight water, at least about 10% by weightdigestible carbohydrate and, optionally, one or more additionalingredients selected from the group consisting of bile salts,surfactants, enzymes, enzyme co-factors, hormones, prostaglandins,peptides, immunoglobulins, cytokines, vaccines and otherimmunomodulators, antioxidants, amino acids, sources of amino acids andamino acid analogs, antibiotics, vitamins and minerals. The highmoisture material is preferably prepared in bulk, extruded and dividedinto dosage unit form at the site where the high moisture material isfed to the animal.

Other objects and features of the invention will be in part apparent andin part pointed out hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a graph depicting the results of Example 12.

FIG. 2 is a bar graph depicting the results of Example 13.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Surprisingly, it has been discovered that the growth of poultry can bestimulated, the livability, cumulative weight gain and feed conversionefficiency of the poultry can be improved by feeding to poultry aformulation of the present invention which is referred to herein as ahigh moisture material. As used herein, the term high moisture materialmeans a colloid in which the dispersed phase (starch, gum or protein)has combined with the continuous phase (water) to produce a viscous,dough-like gel in which larger particles (e.g., particles greater than 5μm in size) such as soy, corn or rice may be suspended.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the high moisture materialis first fed to poultry hatchlings which are within five, four, three,two or even one day of hatching (as determined for each bird).Preferably, the high moisture material is fed to the hatchlings beforethey are offered dry food or allowed to drink water ad libitum, and morepreferably before they are offered dry food, at all. The high moisturematerial may be placed, for example, in the hatching incubator alongwith the eggs from which the poultry will hatch so that the highmoisture material is available to the hatchlings immediately uponhatching. Providing the high moisture material to the chicks prior totheir introduction to solid food reduces the likelihood that thehatchlings will suffer by consuming dry food without simultaneouslydrinking.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the high moisturematerial may be made available to the hatchlings prior to or duringshipping by placing the high moisture material in the chick boxes alongwith the chicks. In accordance with this embodiment, it is preferredthat the high moisture material be placed in the chick boxes beforetransit begins so that the chicks will have the opportunity to consumethe high moisture material before they begin travelling (that is, movingby surface or air transportation from the site of the incubator to aremote location such as a poultry production farm which may be, forexample, one or more miles away from the location of the incubator). Theamount of high moisture material placed in the chick boxes need not besufficient to enable the chicks to feed on it for the entire transitperiod.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, the high moisturematerial is fed to the poultry after they are shipped from the sitewhere they are hatched to a remote location such as a poultry productionfarm or other intermediate facility. After being shipped, some chicks donot readily begin eating dry food and drinking water when it is offered.For such applications, it may be desirable to feed the transportedpoultry the high moisture material until the poultry begin eating dryfood and drinking water ad libitum. In addition, the high moisturematerial may also be fed to the poultry at this time or even a latertime to administer drugs or other substances as described herein.

Typically, chick boxes are filled to capacity with hatchling chicks,leaving little additional room for the high moisture material of thepresent invention. As a practical matter, therefore, hatchling chickswhich are in the chick boxes along with the high moisture material willstand upon, brush against, peck at, and otherwise come into contact withthe high moisture material. Because hatchling chicks cannot regulatetheir body temperature sufficiently well to tolerate evaporativecooling, it is important that the hatchlings not be wetted by (or becomedamp from) the high moisture material under these conditions.Necessarily, therefore, the high moisture material should be resistantto synthesis under these conditions, that is, the high moisture materialshould not release an amount of water which is sufficient to wet thefloor of the container in which the hatchlings are being held or thehatchlings as a consequence of their standing upon it, brushing upagainst it, pecking at it, or otherwise coming into contact with it.

When the high moisture material is initially offered to the poultry orother animal, it should contain at least about 40% by weight water (anamount which is in excess of the amount of water contained in "dry"poultry feeds), preferably at least about 50% by weight water, morepreferably between about 50% and about 85% by weight water, and mostpreferably between about 60% and about 80% by weight water, based uponthe weight of the high moisture material. The non-aqueous fraction ofthe high moisture material is sometimes referred to herein as the "drymatter" or the "solid matter" fraction, with the two terms being usedinterchangeably.

Carbohydrates provide a source of nutrition for the animals and, inaddition, can aid in the formation of the solid. In general, digestiblecarbohydrates constitute at least about 8% by weight of the highmoisture material, preferably at least about 10% by weight of the highmoisture material and, for some applications, at least about 20% byweight of the high moisture material. The digestible carbohydratescontemplated herein include isolated carbohydrates such as corn starch,potato starch, wheat starch, rice starch, cellulose, pectin, agarose,and gums; bioavailable sugars such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose;chemically modified starches such as modified corn starch,methylcellulose, carboxymethylcellulose, and dextrin; humectants such asglycerol or propylene glycol; invert sugar; and ground complexcarbohydrates such as corn, rice, oats, barley, wheat, sorghum, rye,millet, cassava, triticale and tapioca, in whole, ground, cracked,milled, rolled, extruded, pelleted, defatted, dehydrated, solventextracted or other processed form. When included, modified starchespreferably constitute at least about 0.01% by weight of the highmoisture material.

The high moisture material is formed from a mixture of water and acombination of ingredients which enables the formation of a highmoisture material from the mixture and which satisfies the nutrientspecifications, if any. Depending upon the ingredients selected,preparation of the high moisture material may additionally requireheating the mixture. In one embodiment, the mixture contains starch andis heated until the starch granules rupture and the mixture becomesviscous. See, for example, Lewis U.S. Pat. No. 2,593,577. In anotherembodiment, the high moisture material is formed from a colloidalsolution containing a gum dissolved in water; some gums enable theformation of high moisture materials from the colloidal solution withoutheating whereas others require that the solution be heated to atemperature in excess of about 180° F. Generally, gums can constituteabout 0.001% to about 5% by weight of the high moisture material. Gumswhich may be used for this purpose are generally high molecular weightmolecules of plant or animal origin, usually with colloidal properties,which in appropriate solvents are able to produce gels, such as agar,algin and carrageenan derived from seaweeds, plant exudates such as gumarabic, ghatti and tragacanth, plant extracts such as pectin, plantseeds such as guar, locust bean, and animal exudates such as plasma,serum albumin, egg albumin, chitin and gelatin. Other gums includeamylose and amylopectin and gums of bacterial origin.

See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,217,740. In yet another embodiment, agelatinizing aid such as carboxymethylcellulose, lignin, or a ligninderivative is dissolved in water to form a colloidal solution whichforms a gel upon cooling.

After the ingredients of the high moisture material are mixed and heated(if necessary), the material may be allowed to form a gel in situ,transferred to another vessel or container for storage in bulk form, orcast in a shape and size which enables convenient feeding to animals. Ina preferred embodiment, the mixture may be transferred to a containersuch as a drum or a deformable plastic which holds, for example, betweenabout 25 and about 1,000 kilograms of the high moisture material.

For administration to poultry hatchlings, the gelled high moisturematerial preferably has a texture which enables the hatchlings to breakthe high moisture material apart by pecking; that is, the high moisturematerial is sufficiently soft such that the pecking of the hatchlingswill cause the high moisture material to break or crumble intoconsumable fragments. Once broken into fragments, however, the highmoisture material preferably does not adhere to the feathers or down ofpoultry hatchlings. In addition, it is preferred that the high moisturematerial comprise particles which are visible to the naked eye. Suchparticles include, for example, ground ingredients such as ground grainsand seeds such as corn and soy beans, and other particles which do notexceed the size of a typical grain of white rice (i.e., about 1 mm).

Unless the high moisture material will be promptly fed to an animal, itis preferably stabilized against microbial growth. That is, upon beingsealed and stored at room temperature for a period of at least abouteight weeks the stabilized high moisture material will show noindication of microbial growth. The high moisture material may bestabilized, for example, by sterilizing, adding a microbial growthinhibitor such as methyl paraben or a sorbate thereto, or adjusting thepH of the mixture from which the high moisture material is formed.Preferably, the high moisture material is stabilized by adjusting the pHof the mixture with an acid to a pH within the range of about 3 to about4, more preferably to a pH within the range of about 3 to 3.5. Such acidcan be a low molecular weight carboxylic acid, preferably having a chainlength of C₂ -C₁₀, more preferably having a chain length of C₂ -C₇, mostpreferably having a chain length of C₂ -C₅. Examples of usefulcarboxylic acids include citric acid, propionic acid, and fumaric acid.Phosphoric acid can also be used. Propionic acid can be present in anamount of from about 0.5% to about 1% by weight of the present highmoisture material; citric acid and fumaric acid can be present in anamount of from about 0.7% to about 2% by weight of the high moisturematerial.

The high moisture material may be fed to the animals in a variety ofmanners. For example, the amount required for feeding may be scooped,sliced or otherwise removed from the unit, container or vessel in whichit is held and transferred to the animal(s) in unit form. To reducelabor, however, the unit doses of the solid may be generated from thebulk material by pumping or compressing the high moisture material andforcing it through an opening. The resulting material, referred toherein as an extrudate, is in the form of a high moisture materialcontaining substantially the same amount of water as the bulk material.In one embodiment, the high moisture material may be in a compressiblecontainer which is compressed to force the high moisture material toflow through a die and to a location where it can be consumed by theanimal(s). In some instances it may be preferred to combine the highmoisture material with a heat labile or other ingredient before the highmoisture material is fed to the animal(s); in these instances, the heatlabile ingredient is added to the high moisture material at or near roomtemperature and the total mixture is then remixed before being dividedinto unit doses. Alternatively, the heat labile material may be sprayedonto the unit dose of high moisture material. In any event, however, theextrusion step should not cause the high moisture material to lose asignificant amount of water or the desired texture. That is, theextrudate should preferably contain at least 40% by weight water,preferably at least about 50% by weight water, more preferably betweenabout 50% and about 85% by weight water, and most preferably betweenabout 60% and about 80% by weight water, based upon the weight of theextrudate and, in addition, the extrudate should be sufficiently softsuch that the pecking of the hatchlings will cause the high moisturematerial to break or crumble into consumable fragments.

The high moisture material of the present invention resists synthesiswhen it contains at least about 5% protein. To increase its nutritionalvalue for some applications such as longer-term feeding, the highmoisture material preferably comprises at least about 7% by weight, morepreferably at least about 10% by weight, of an amino acid source such asprotein(s), amino acids, precursors or analogues of amino acids, andmixtures thereof. In addition, it is preferred that the weight ratio ofall digestible carbohydrate to all amino acid sources in the highmoisture material be between about 0.6:1 and 3:1, respectively.Exemplary amino acids are essential amino acids such as methionine,tryptophan, threonine, arginine and lysine. Exemplary amino acidprecursors are 2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoic acid sold, for example,under the trademark Alimet® by Novus International (St. Louis, Mo.), andsalts of 2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoic acid such as the calcium andsodium salts. Exemplary proteins include single cell proteins orhydrolysates of proteins such as those from yeast, algae or bacteria;isolated animal proteins, peptides or hydrolysates of proteins such ashemoglobin, myosin, plasma, or other serum proteins, collagen, casein,albumin or keratin; complex protein sources or hydrolysates of proteinssuch as milk, blood, whey, blood meal, meatmeal, feathermeal, fishmeal,meat and bone meal, poultry offal, poultry by-product meal, hatcheryby-products, egg offal, egg white, egg yolk, and eggs without shells;plant protein or hydrolysate of proteins such as soybean meal,isolatedsoybean protein, wheat protein, wheat germ, distillers grains andgluten.

Although not preferred for certain applications, fat may also beincluded in the high moisture material in relatively small proportions.A suitable high moisture material, therefore, would comprise at leastabout 50% by weight water and no more than about 5% by weight fat,preferably no more than about 4% by weight fat. Suitable fats includefatty acids such as linoleic acid; isolated plant oils such assunflower, safflower, soybean, peanut, canola, corn, rapeseed, olive,linseed and palmkernal; fat meals such as cottonseed, peanut, rapeseed,palmmeal and nut meals; and fats of animal origin such as egg yolk,lard, butter, poultry fat, tallow and fishoil.

The various processes disclosed herein can employ different types ofhigh moisture materials depending upon the particular application. Thesehigh moisture materials can contain:

between about 50% and about 80% by weight water;

at least about 10% by weight carbohydrate; and

a member selected from the group consisting of:

at least about 5% by weight protein,

at least about 7% by weight amino acids, amino acid precursors, aminoacid analogs, or a combination thereof,

a combination of at least about 5% by weight protein and at least about5% by weight amino acids, amino acid precursors, amino acid analogs, ora combination thereof,

a combination of at least about 10% by weight protein, amino acids,amino acid precursors, and amino acid analogs, and

at least about 10% by weight protein.

The ratio of carbohydrates to the various nitrogen-containing members inthese high moisture materials can be in the range between about 1:1 andabout 3:1.

When the high moisture material contains at least about 7% by weightamino acids, amino acid precursors, amino acid analogs, or a combinationthereof, or a combination of at least about 10% by weight protein, aminoacids, amino acid precursors, and amino acid analogs, the high moisturematerial can also contain a starch, a gum, or a combination thereof. Thestarch can be an unmodified starch or a combination of an unmodifiedstarch and a modified starch. When the starch is an unmodified starch,it can be present in an amount of at least about 10% by weight. When thestarch is a combination of an unmodified starch and a modified starch,the modified starch can be present in an amount of at least about 0.01%by weight. When a gum is employed, it can be present in an amount offrom about 0.001% to about 5% by weight.

To enable hatchlings to more effectively utilize any fats which may bepresent in the high moisture material or to enable the hatchlings tomore effectively utilize its yolk-based lipid and protein, the highmoisture material may contain bile salts, cholesterol, surfactants,emulsifying agents, micelles, or an enzyme such as lipase, amylase,maltase, pepsin, trypsin, or other enzyme which commonly occur in thegastrointestinal system, or an enzyme such as keratinase which is nottypically found in the gastrointestinal system but which has usefulactivities. The concentration of the digestion aid will depend upon theapplication but, in general, will be between about 0.01% and about 5% byweight of the dry matter.

The high moisture material may additionally contain vitamins andminerals. Vitamin additives may be selected, for example, from vitaminA, B12, biotin, choline, folacin, niacin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine,riboflavin, thiamin, C, D, 25-hydroxy D, E, and K. Mineral additives maybe selected, for example, from calcium, phosphorous, selenium, chlorine,magnesium, potassium, sodium, copper, iodine, iron, manganese andchromium pincolinate. The concentration of the vitamins and mineralswill depend upon the application but, in general, will be between about0.01% and about 5% by weight of the dry matter.

Bacterial, yeast or mold preparations, commonly referred to asprobiotics or direct fed microbials, have been administered orally oradded to animal feeds to provide various benefits such as altering thegastrointestinal microflora/microbiota of poultry and other animals.Those microbial additives which have been approved for use areidentified in the annual Feed Additive Compendium published by TheMiller Publishing Company (Minnetonka, Minn.) in cooperation with TheAnimal Health Institute and the Direct-fed Microbial, Enzyme and ForageAdditive Compendium published by The Miller Publishing Company. Amongthe direct-fed microbials which have been approved are strains of thelactic acid bacteria, particularly those classified in the followinggenera: Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, and Enterococcus. Included amongthese are the following species: Lactobacillus reuteri, Lactobacillusacidophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Lactobacillus plantarum,Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus lactis, Lactococcus lactis,Lactococcus thermophilus, Lactococcus diacetylactis, and Enterococcusfaecium. In addition to these lactic acid bacteria, some species ofBacillus (such as Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus toyoi), some species ofStreptococcus (such as Streptococcus faecium), and yeasts and molds(such as Saccharomvces cerevisiae, Aspergillus oryzae, and Torulopsissp.) have also been used as direct fed microbials.

The high moisture material of the present invention, therefore, may beused as a vehicle to administer direct-fed microbials to poultry andother animals. When used for this purpose, the high moisture materialshould contain sufficient colony forming units of the yeast or bacteriumto be of benefit to the animal. In general, the high moisture materialused as a direct fed microbial should contain at least about 10²,preferably about 10⁴, and more preferably about 10⁶ colony forming unitsof bacteria or at least about 10, preferably about 10², and morepreferably about 10⁴ colony forming units of yeast per gram ofcomposition. The yeast or bacterium may be incorporated into the highmoisture material prior to solidification or it may be deposited on orin the high moisture material after it has solidified. Although the highmoisture material may be fed at anytime to alter the gastrointestinalmicroflora/microbiota of or provide other benefits to the animal, it ispreferably fed to poultry as soon as possible after hatching toestablish the direct fed microorganism(s) as the dominant flora orculture in the gastrointestinal tract and thereby exclude potentialpathogens.

The high moisture material may additionally be used as a vehicle todeliver a variety of other substances to poultry and other animals. Forexample, the high moisture material may contain a peptide such asepidermal growth factor, transforming growth factor,granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor, erythropoietin,bombesin, fibroblast growth factor, keratinocyte growth factor, nervegrowth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor, bovine or othersomatotropin or insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I or IGF-II). The highmoisture material may also contain a steroid or polypeptide hormone suchas, estrogen, glucocorticoids, insulin, glucagon, gastrin, calcitonin orsomatotropin. The high moisture material may further contain anantibiotic approved for use in animal feed such as bacitracin, BMD(bacitracin methylenedisalicylate), lincomycin, or virginiamycin orother therapeutic drug. The high moisture material may also additionallycontain a natural or synthetic antioxidant such as ethoxyquin,tocopherol, BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene), BHA (butylatedhydroxyanisole), vitamin C or glutathione; a receptor, transfer factor,chelator or complexing agent which modifies release rates of nutrientsor other bioactive compounds; an immunoactive agent such as cytokines,vaccines and other immunomodulators, immunoglobulins, antigens, killedcells, attenuated strains, toxins, adjuvants or vaccines; or apalatability modifier such as food coloring, grit, oyster shell, wholeseeds or grains. The concentration of these additives will depend uponthe application but, in general, will be between about 0.1% and about10% by weight of the dry matter.

A formulation satisfying the nutrient specifications of the highmoisture material of the present invention may be prepared, for example,from the following ingredient mix (based upon the weight of thenon-aqueous fraction of the high moisture material):

    ______________________________________                                        soybean meal         58%                                                      dried egg white      8%                                                       corn starch          4%                                                       corn meal            30%                                                      Alimet ®         0.5%                                                     propionic acid       0.5%                                                     citric acid          to pH 3.5-4                                              ______________________________________                                    

High moisture materials containing these ingredients (and optionally oneor more of the other additives described herein) can be made by drymixing the ingredients, adding hot water (80° C.) and quickly mixing thewetted ingredients while maintaining the temperature above the starchgelation temperature for at least one minute. The mixture is thenstirred and pressed into a dish, cylinder, mold, or other vessel orcontainer.

Although a high moisture material may be prepared from a poultry starterdiet formulation, such simple mixtures readily allow the escape of freewater which is potentially deleterious. Not only could the hatchlingchicks suffer from evaporative cooling as a result of being wetted bythe released moisture, they could suffer from consuming high moisturematerial which contains insufficient moisture. In addition, a loss ofmoisture could cause a substantial change in the texture of the highmoisture material, changing it from a material which the hatchlingchicks can break apart by pecking and consume to one which is hard or"leathery" and inaccessible to the birds. It is preferred, therefore,that the high moisture material have an initial moisture content of atleast about 40% by weight water and that the high moisture materialretain substantially all of its water under the conditions at which itis being provided to the chicks. More preferably, the high moisturematerial will retain at least 80% and most preferably at least about 90%of its water content when exposed to a temperature of 80° C. and arelative humidity of 70% for 24 hours. To improve the water-retentioncapability of the high moisture material, humectants, gums, proteins orother ingredients may be included in the formulation.

Similarly, the digestibility of ingredients could be improved withadditions to the formulation such as, but not limited to, enzymes, bilesalts or surfactants. Similarly, overall performance may be improvedwith the addition of selected micro ingredients, minerals,microorganisms, growth promotants, hormones, prostaglandins such as E₂or other factors which promote enhanced digestive enzyme activity,nutrient absorption or maturation of the gastrointestinal system as awhole.

In general, highly available protein sources might include hydrolyzedpoultry protein, hydrolyzed casein, or peptone. In contrast, lessavailable protein sources such as by-product meals or vegetable proteinsmight be fed in combination with factors such as proteases ormicroorganisms that secrete proteases to increase digestibility.Similarly, carbohydrates such as glucose may be chosen for highavailability, or more complex sources such as ground corn or potatostarch may be supplemented with enzymes or subjected to gelation toincrease their availability. Digestibility of saturated fats could beimproved through the addition of lipase, bile salts or surfactants.Thus, the formulation would include either highly available ingredientsor additives or handling methods which improve digestion of lessavailable ingredients in very young birds. The ingredients would beadministered in a semi-solid or solid form.

In addition, it has been demonstrated that the gastrointestinal systemof young birds is not able to use certain ingredients such as tallowwith the same efficiency as mature birds (Fredde et al., FactorsAffecting the Absorbability of Certain Dietary Fats in the Chick, J.Nutrition, Vol. 70, pp. 447-452 (1960); Gomez et al., The Use of BileSalts to Improve Absorption of Tallow in Chicks, One to Three Weeks ofAge, Poultry Science Vol. 55, pp. 2189-2195 (1976); Polin et al., TheEffect of Bile Acids and Lipase on Absorption of Tallow in Young Chicks,Poultry Science, Vol. 59, pp. 2738-2743 (1980); Sell et al., Influenceof Age on Utilization of Supplemental Fats by Young Turkeys, PoultryScience, Vol. 65, pp. 546-554 (1986)). Ontogenetic changes whichaccompany improved digestion include increased levels of pancreatic andintestinal enzymes (Krogdahl et al., Influence of Age on Lipase,Amylase, and Protease Activities in Pancreatic Tissue and IntestinalContents of Young Turkeys, Poultry Science, Vol. 68, pp. 1561-1568(1989); Sell et al., Intestinal Disaccharidases of Young Turkeys:Temporal Development and Influence of Diet Composition, Poultry Science,Vol. 68, pp. 265-277 (1989); Noy et al., Digestion and Absorption in theYoung Chick, Poultry Science, Vol. 74, pp. 366-373 (1995)), overall gutsurface area for absorption (Nitsan et al., Growth and Development ofthe Digestive Organs and Some Enzymes in Broiler Chicks After Hatching,British Poultry Science, Vol. 32, pp. 515-523 (1991); Nitsan et al.,Organ Growth and Digestive Enzyme Levels to Fifteen Days of Age in Linesof Chickens Differing in Body Weight, Poultry Science, Vol. 70, pp.2040-2048 (1991); Sell et al., Developmental Patterns of SelectedCharacteristics of the Gastrointestinal Tract of Young Turkeys, PoultryScience, Vol. 70, pp. 1200-1205 (1991)), and changes in nutrienttransporters (Shehata et al., Development of Brush-Border MembraneHexose Transport System in Chick Jejunum, Am. J. Physiol, Vol. 240, pp.G102-G108 (1981); Buddington et al., Ontogenetic Development ofIntestinal Nutrient Transporters, Annu. Rev. Physiol., Vol. 51, pp.601-619 (1989); Moreto et al., Transport of L-Proline andα-Methyl-D-Glucoside by Chicken Proximal Cecum During Development, Am.J. Physiol, Vol. 260, pp. G457-G463 (1991)). The high moisture materialof the present invention would minimize or exclude poorly usedingredients and substitute more highly available ingredients as assessedby subsequent bird performance.

The quantity of the high moisture material fed will be a function of theanimal species, age, environmental conditions such as temperature andhumidity and, in the case of poultry, the length of the preplacementperiod, i.e, the total time consumed in the post-hatch holding period,the processing period and in transit to the poultry production farm. Ingeneral, however, at least about 5 grams of high moisture material perchick per day should be provided to 0 to 2 day old chicks, about 10grams of high moisture material per chick per day should be provided to2 to 3 day old chicks, and up to about 20 grams of high moisturematerial per chick per day should be provided to 4 to 7 day old chicks.

As previously noted, chicks conventionally are placed with poultryproduction farms within about 2 days of hatching. This practice hasdeveloped, in part, out ofthe fact that hatchers typically do notprovide food or water to the hatchlings and the fact that the hatchlingsmust receive water and a source of nutrition by about 3 days or elsethey suffer. Because the composition of the high moisture materials ofthe present invention can be controlled to meet the changing nutritionalrequirements of the hatchlings as they mature, it may become practicalfor hatchers to delay sending chicks to poultry production farms for alonger period of time or to ship chicks a greater distance withoutexperiencing many of the difficulties associated with providing waterand nutrition to the chicks. Thus, for example, hatchers couldconveniently feed the high moisture material of the present invention tothe chicks for a period of about 3 to about 7 days from hatching beforeshipping them on to the poultry production farms. Alternatively, thechicks could be shipped from the hatcher to an intermediate facilitywhere they could be fed the high moisture material for a period of about7 days and then shipped to the standard poultry production farm. Eitherapproach would allow the poultry production farms to more efficientlyutilize their houses without burdening the hatchers with feeding thehatchlings water and dry food.

The following examples will illustrate the invention.

EXAMPLE 1

The performance of 1 to 4 day old birds, i.e., birds which were no lessthan 1 day old and no more than 4 days old at the start of the test asmeasured from hatching for each bird, fed high moisture solidsconsisting of agar (1.5% agar and 98.5% by weight water) or agar and eggyolk (1.5% agar, 10% egg yolk and 88.5% by weight water) were comparedto fasted and water deprived birds. The results are presented inTable 1. Birds initially lost weight on all feeding regimes and agaralone gave no benefit in either cumulative gain or cumulativefeed-to-gain ratio ("FTG"). Agar plus yolk showed an effect oncumulative gain on days 6 and 13, but cumulative feed-to-gain ratio(sometimes referred to herein as cumulative feed efficiency) was poorerthan for fasted birds. The data also suggest that hydration alone (agartreatment) with or without yolk conferred no cumulative feed efficiencybenefit in this study. Cumulative livability was improved by feedingeither water-containing formulation.

                                      TABLE 1                                     __________________________________________________________________________    Growth of Birds Fed Nothing or Formulations Consisting of Agar (1.5%)         with and without Egg Yolk (10%)                                                   Cumul.                                                                            Cumul.                                                                            Cumul.                                                                            Cumul.                                                                            Cumul.                                                                            Cumulative                                                                          Cumulative                                          Gain                                                                              Gain                                                                              FTG Gain                                                                              FTG Feed Intake                                                                         Livability                                      Trt Day 3                                                                             Day 6                                                                             Day 6                                                                             Day 13                                                                            Day 13                                                                            Day 13                                                                              Day 13                                          __________________________________________________________________________    Fasted                                                                            -8.0                                                                              35.8 g                                                                            1.66                                                                              1.95.5 g                                                                          1.40                                                                              274 g  94%                                            24 h                                                                          Agar                                                                              -7.2                                                                              32.8 g                                                                            1.95                                                                              193.7 g                                                                           1.41                                                                              273 g 100%                                            Agar &                                                                            -7.8                                                                              37.5 g                                                                            1.70                                                                              197.4 g                                                                           1.43                                                                              282 g 100%                                            Yolk                                                                          __________________________________________________________________________

EXAMPLE 2

In this example, groups of one to four day old birds were fed for 24 or48 hours a high moisture solid consisting of starter feed and water.Pens were given enough high moisture solid for each bird to consume 10g. The feed was present at either 25, 50 or 100% of the high moisturesolid. From Table 2 it appears that the high moisture solid containing25% dry matter gave the best cumulative gain after feeding either 24 or48 hr. It should be noted, however, that all high moisture solids showedcumulative gain superior to the fasted controls. When cumulative feedefficiency, was corrected for differences in body weight (BW FTG), the25% dry matter high moisture solid again was superior to the otherswhether fed for 24 or 48 hr. Cumulative feed intake subsequent to the 48hr treatment period was higher when birds were given high moisturesolids than when they were fasted. This was the case for formulationscontaining 25, 50 or 100% dry matter. Cumulative livability data suggestthat the high moisture solids containing a greater percentage of drymatter are associated with lower livability than the fasted control or25% dry matter formulations.

                  TABLE 2                                                         ______________________________________                                        Growth of Birds Fed Starter Feed and Moisture Combinations                                               BW                                                            Cumul.  Cumul.  Cumul.                                                                              Cumul.                                                                              Cumulative                                        Gain    FTG     FTG   intake                                                                              Livability                             Treatment  Day 13  Day 13  Day 13                                                                              Day 13                                                                              Day 13                                 ______________________________________                                        Fasted 24 h                                                                              280.9 g 1.316   1.292 369.8 g                                                                             100%                                   Formulation 24 h                                                                         303.5 g 1.319   1.285 400.3 g                                                                             100%                                   Dry Matter 25%                                                                Formation 24 h                                                                           269.0 g 1.342   1.323 360.8 g                                                                             100%                                   Dry Matter 50%                                                                Formation 24 h                                                                           286.7 g 1.312   1.285 375.8 g                                                                              94%                                   Dry Matter 100%                                                               Fasted 48 h                                                                              222.8 g 1.371   1.372 304.6 g                                                                              96%                                   Formation 48 h                                                                           284.6 g 1.274   1.248 362.5 g                                                                             100%                                   Dry Matter 25%                                                                Formation 48 h                                                                           267.0 g 1.353   1.335 360.4 g                                                                              83%                                   Dry Matter 50%                                                                Formation 48 h                                                                           237.9 g 1.394   1.389 328.4 g                                                                              83%                                   Dry Matter 100%                                                               ______________________________________                                    

EXAMPLE 3

In this example, groups of one to four day old birds were given 20 geach of a high moisture solid consisting of gelatin and Alimet®(2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoic acid) base with additions of eithercorn starch or corn starch and lysine. The dry matter content of thehigh moisture solid was about 5% and the amount of each of the drymatter constituents, based upon the weight of the high moisture solidfor each formulation, was as indicated in Table 3. The formulationcontaining corn starch, gelatin and Alimet® showed cumulative gain andlivability superior to the fasted control and the other twoformulations. Treatments 2 and 3 also showed superior cumulative feedintake when compared with the fasted control, but the formulationstended to liquify at the brooding temperature and could cause problemsin brooding and transit boxes.

                                      TABLE 3                                     __________________________________________________________________________    Growth of Birds Fed Formulations Containing Starch,                           Gelatin, Alimet and Lysine Combinations                                                            Cumul                                                                             Cumul                                                                             Cumul                                                                             Cumulative                                       Corn             Gain                                                                              FTG Intake                                                                            Livability                                   Trt Starch                                                                            Gelatin                                                                           Alimet ®                                                                       Lysine                                                                            Day 14                                                                            Day 14                                                                            Day 14                                                                            Day 14                                       __________________________________________________________________________    Fasted               297.8 g                                                                           1.22                                                                              358 g                                                                             95%                                          24 hr                                                                         1   Og  2.5%                                                                              .13% 0   290.8 g                                                                           1.32                                                                              340 g                                                                             80%                                          2   2.5%                                                                              2.5%                                                                              .13% 0   317.7 g                                                                           1.23                                                                              392 g                                                                             100%                                         3   2.5%                                                                              2.5%                                                                              .13% .13%                                                                              289.1 g                                                                           1.34                                                                              360 g                                                                             80%                                          __________________________________________________________________________

EXAMPLE 4

Groups of one to four day old birds were fed formulations containingsources of fats and protein administered with and without added lipaseto assist in the digestion of the fat. All formulations contained cornstarch, Alimet, lysine and the bile salt, chenodeoxycholic acid. In onecase, protein and fat were provided together in the form of yolk solids.In the second case, poultry protein and soy oil were used to provide theprotein and fat. The dry matter content of the high moisture solid wasabout 25% and the amount of each of the dry matter constituents, basedupon the weight of the high moisture solid for each formulation, was asindicated in Table 4. Table 4 indicates that the improved cumulativegains and cumulative feed efficiencies were observed in all formulationtreatments. Lipase did not appear to be enhance the availability ofthese complex fat sources. Superior early cumulative feed intake wasachieved with yolk solids in the absence of additional lipase. It shouldbe noted that yolk was also used in Example 1, but bird response was notevident in the absence of a source of carbohydrates, bile salts, amethionine source and added lysine.

                                      TABLE 4                                     __________________________________________________________________________    Growth of Birds Fed Formulations Containing Sources                           of Protein and Fat, with and without Lipase                                   (Corn starch: 2.5%, Alimet: .05%, Lysine .05%, Chenodeoxycholic acid:         .02%)                                                                                              Cumul.  Cumul.                                                                            Cumulative                                                        Gain                                                                              FTG intake                                                                            Livability                                   Trt Addition  Fat                                                                              Protein                                                                           Day 12                                                                            Day 12                                                                            Day 12                                                                            Day 12                                       __________________________________________________________________________    Fasted               253.6 g                                                                           1.30                                                                              329.2 g                                                                           100%                                         1   Egg Yolk (11%)                                                                          7.7%                                                                             3.3%                                                                              284.4 g                                                                           1.22                                                                              345.6 g                                                                           100%                                         2   Lipase (2%) Egg Yolk                                                                    7.7%                                                                             3.3%                                                                              254.0 g                                                                           1.24                                                                              312.2 g                                                                           100%                                             (11%)                                                                     3   Soy Oil (10%)                                                                           10%                                                                              7.5%                                                                              264.3 g                                                                           1.25                                                                              331.2 g                                                                            95%                                             Poultry Protein (10%)                                                     4   Lipase (2%)                                                                             10%                                                                              7.5%                                                                              257.9 g                                                                           1.26                                                                              312.4 g                                                                           100%                                             Soy Oil (10%)                                                                 Poultry Protein (10%)                                                     __________________________________________________________________________

EXAMPLE 5

Groups of one to four day old birds fed agar (1.5% agar and 98.5% water)and agar plus a direct fed microbial (1.5% agar, 88.5% water, 10%Biomate direct fed microbial including the microbial carrier) werecompared to a fasted control. The direct fed microbial ("DFM") consistedof two species of Lactobacilli and two species of Bacilli. The directfed microbial contained 2.2×10⁸ colony forming units per gram ofmaterial for each of the Lactobacilli species and 5.5×10⁸ colony formingunits per gram of material for each of the Bacilli species with each penof 8 birds receiving 1 gram of product. Although the cumulative feedefficiency of this treatment was poorer than that of agar alone,cumulative gain appeared to increase in the presence of water and theDFM. The DFM, therefore, provided some benefit on its own and tooptimize this effect more nutrients should be added to the high moisturesolid.

                  TABLE 5                                                         ______________________________________                                        Growth of Birds Fed Agar (1.5%) and Agar                                      Containing a Direct Fed Microbial Consisting of                               Lactobacillus acidophilus and lactis, and Bacillus                            subtilis and licheniformis (10%)                                                       Cumulative                                                                              Cumulative                                                                              Cumulative                                                                            Cumulative                                        Gain      Feed to Gain                                                                            Feed Intake                                                                           Livability                               Treatment                                                                              Day 21    Day 21    Day 21  Day 21                                   ______________________________________                                        Fasted 24 h                                                                            710.3 g   1.388     985.8 g 98%                                      Agar (1.5%)                                                                            720.5 g   1.386     998.0 g 98%                                      Agar (1.5%)                                                                            724.2 g   1.387     1004.4 g                                                                              98%                                      DFM (10%)                                                                     ______________________________________                                    

EXAMPLE 6

This example shows the response of one to four day old hatchlings tocasein, enzyme hydrolyzed casein and casein administered with a sourceof proteolytic activity. The high moisture solid contained 85% waterwith a balance of constituents as indicated in Table 6. In treatment 3,0.6% pepsin (based upon the weight of the high moisture solid) was addedto the formulation and in treatment 4, a microbe which secretes aproteolytic enzyme was added. All formulation treatments showed superiorcumulative gain, cumulative feed efficiency and livability when comparedto the fasted control.

                                      TABLE 6                                     __________________________________________________________________________    Growth of Birds Fed Formulations with Casein, Hydrolyzed Casein, Casein       with Pepsin or Casein with B. licheniformis (2 × 10.sup.6 /bird)        (Ground corn: 10%, Agar: 25%, Alimet: .125%, Lysine: .04)                                  Cumulative                                                                          Cumulative                                                                          Cumulative                                                                          Cumulative                                                  Gain  Feed to Gain                                                                        Feed Intake                                                                         Livability                                     Trt Casein   Day 12                                                                              Day 12                                                                              Day 12                                                                              Day 12                                         __________________________________________________________________________    Fasted       207.2 g                                                                             1.34  303.4 g                                                                             79%                                            24 h                                                                          1   Casein (10%)                                                                           249.3 g                                                                             1.21  301.7 g                                                                             92%                                            2   Hydrolyzed                                                                             234.8 g                                                                             1.19  280.1 g                                                                             96%                                                Casein (10%)                                                              3   Casein (10%)                                                                           234.8 g                                                                             1.26  293.7 g                                                                             91%                                                Pepsin (.6%)                                                              4   Casein (10%)                                                                           248.8 g                                                                             1.19  296.0 g                                                                             91%                                                B. licheniformis                                                          __________________________________________________________________________

EXAMPLE 7

In this example, zero to two day old birds were fed formulationsconsisting of 10% dry matter in the form of corn starch (2.5%), protein(5%), and glucose (2.5%), based upon the weight of the high moisturesolid. Birds were treated for 24, 48 or 72 hours, to test thepossibility of treating birds over the total preplacement period ofapproximately 2 days in the hatching incubator and 1 day in transit. Allformulation treated birds showed cumulative gain superior to birdsfasted for an equivalent period. In addition, the birds treated withformulation for 24 and 48 hours also showed superior cumulative feedefficiencies. The response appeared to decline at the 72 hour timepoint. It appears from these data that 10% dry matter is sufficient toimprove performance of young birds over a 2 day period, but that ahigher concentration of nutrients may be required by the third day. Itshould be noted that for each time period, livability of formulation fedbirds was superior to fasted controls.

                  TABLE 7                                                         ______________________________________                                        Growth of Birds Fed Hatchery Formulations Consisting of                       Corn Starch (2.5%), Porcine Plasma (5%), Agar (.5%),                          Alimet (.125%), Lysine (.125%), Glucose 2.5%; Total 10%                       Dry Matter)                                                                            Cumulative                                                                              Cumulative                                                                              Cumulative                                                                            Cumulative                                        Gain      Feed to Gain                                                                            Feed Intake                                                                           Livability                               Treatment                                                                              Day 16    Day 16    Day 16  Day 16                                   ______________________________________                                        Fasted 24 h                                                                            405.4 g   1.431     580.1 g 93%                                      Formulation                                                                            435.6 g   1.422     619.4 g 96%                                      24 h                                                                          Fasted 48 h                                                                            369.3 g   1.425     526.3 g 95%                                      Formulation                                                                            391.7 g   1.413     553.5 g 100%                                     48 h                                                                          Fasted 72 h                                                                            331.1 g   1.430     473.5 g 91%                                      Formulation                                                                            348.6 g   1.456     507.6 g 93%                                      72 h                                                                          ______________________________________                                    

EXAMPLE 8

In this example, the growth of chicks fed nothing, formulationssolidified with dehydrated egg white, whole egg or guar/xanthan gums, ora simple gruel of rice and corn was compared. Table 8 shows early birdperformance as influenced by formulations solidified in various ways.

Treatment 1 was the fasted control. The formulation in treatments 2 and3 consisted of corn meal (15%), corn starch (2%), soybean meal (12%) andeither dehydrated egg white (3.6%) or whole egg (20%). Treatment 4 hadslightly more soybean meal (16%) to compensate for the loss of the eggprotein and was solidified with a combination of guar (0.35%) andxanthan (0.05%) gums. Treatment 5 was a simple gruel of rice (22.5%) andcorn (22.5%). All formulations contained fumaric (1%) and propionic(0.5%) and a vitamin (0.1%) and mineral (0.05%) premix.

One to four day old birds were weighed (Table 8, body weight day 0) andtreated with 10 gm/bird of a high moisture solid or fasted for 24 hours.The birds receiving high moisture solid received one of four highmoisture solids designated in Table 8. Birds were then weighed again(body weight day 1) and all were offered water and starter feed for adlibitum consumption. As can be seen in Table 8, fasted birds initiallylost weight while formulation treated birds either maintained or evengained weight. Day 6 performance, however, indicated that the higherprotein formulations (2-4) were more beneficial than the simple rice andcorn mixture. Both body weights and feed efficiencies of birds intreatments 2-4 were superior to those of treatment 5. All birds showedan improvement in early livability compared to fasted controls.

                  TABLE 8                                                         ______________________________________                                        Growth of Birda Fed Nothing or Formulations                                   Solidified with Dehydrated Egg White, Whole Egg                               or Guar/Xanthan Gums, in Comparison to a Simple                               Gruel of Rice and Corn.                                                                       Body    Body  Body  Feed to                                        Treatment  Weight  Weight                                                                              Weight                                                                              Gain  Livability                          Trt  Description                                                                              Day 0   Day 1 Day 6 Day 6 Day 6                               ______________________________________                                        1    Fasted     43.5    41.8  140.9 1.305 69%                                      Control                                                                  2    Dehydrated 43.4    44.8  154.9 1.121 98%                                      Egg White                                                                3    Whole Egg  43.6    45.8  156.1 1.175 98%                                 4    Guar and   43.1    43.4  155.6 1.167 98%                                      Xanthan Gum                                                              5    Rice and   43.9    45.1  147.6 1.200 100%                                     Ground Corn                                                              ______________________________________                                    

EXAMPLE 9

In this example, the water retention characteristics of the variousformulations described in Example 8 was compared to that in a simpleground corn and rice gruel. After 24 hours, formulations in which egg orgums were added to bind the water held more moisture than did the simplehot water slurry of rice and ground corn. When these were fed to one tofour day old chicks, birds eating the rice and ground corn gruel werenoted to be damp, although no measurable water escaped from any of themixtures. The results are presented in Table 9.

                  TABLE 9                                                         ______________________________________                                        Water Retention (%) in Formulations after 24                                  hours at 80, 90 or 100C. and 40% Humidity                                                  Water Remaining in Formulation                                                After 24 Hours                                                                80C.    90C.      100C.                                          Formulation    %      g/kg   %    g/kg %    g/kg                              ______________________________________                                        Dehydrated Egg White                                                                         26.5   175    15.5 102  16.5 109                               Whole Egg      26.0   172    22.5 149  15.5 102                               Guar Xanthan Gum                                                                             24.0   166    22.5 156  17.0 118                               Rice and Ground Corn                                                                         14.5    80    2.8   15  0     0                                ______________________________________                                    

EXAMPLE 9a

Table 9a shows water loss by high moisture solids kept at 80° C. and 70%humidity. Formulations 1-4 contained guar and xanthan gums (0.6-1%),20-22% soybean meal and about 16% corn meal, with the balance as water.Humectant levels ranged from 1 g (modified corn starch) to 50 g(propylene glycol and glycerol). Formulations 5 and 6 were included asexamples of simple formulations which did not include a humectant.Formulation 5 consisted of 21% soybean meal, 11% oats and 8.5% rice,with the balance as water. Prior to the experiment shown in Table 9a,all formulations were kept at room temperature overnight to allow themixtures to absorb the water. In the absence of a humectant, a gum basedgel lost 19% of its water in 24 hours and 34% after 48 hours. Highmoisture solids containing the humectants propylene glycol and glycerollost 0-10% of their water in 24 hours and 4-17% after 48 hours. Themodified corn starch did not perform as well under these conditions asdid the other humectants. Simple mixtures of grain and rice retained theleast water under these conditions, losing 24% water over the first 24hours and 47-53% of their water by 48 hours.

                  TABLE 9a                                                        ______________________________________                                        Water Retention (80C., 70% Humidity) at 24 and 48 hour by                     High Moisture Solids Containing Gums or Humectants in                         Comparison to Simple Mixtures of Grains, Soybean Meal and Rice                      Formulation              Loss at                                                                              Loss at                                 Trt   Contents      Other      24 h (%)                                                                             48 h (%)                                ______________________________________                                        1     Soybean Meal,            19%    33%                                           Corn Meal & Gum                                                         2     Soybean Meal, Modified   20%    42%                                           Corn Meal & Gum                                                                             Corn Starch                                               3     Soybean Meal, Propylene   0%     4%                                           Corn Meal & Gum                                                                             Glycol                                                    4     Soybean Meal, Glycerol   10%    17%                                           Corn Meal & Gum                                                         5     Soybean Meal, None       24%    47%                                           Rice & Oats                                                             6     Ground Corn & None       24%    53%                                           Rice                                                                    ______________________________________                                    

EXAMPLE 10

In this example, samples from formulations containing soybean meal(12%), corn meal (17%) and either whole egg (20%) or guar/xanthan gum(4%) stabilized with fumaric (1%) and propionic (0.5%) acids werecompared to a simple corn (23%) and rice (23%) mixture for microbialgrowth. All mixtures were stored sealed (except for sampling) at roomtemperature. Plates were incubated for 3 days at 37° C. in a saturatedatmosphere. MacConkey agar was included to evaluate the growth of Gramnegative organisms such as E. Coli. From Table 10 it is clear that therice and corn mixture was not stable and supported high levels ofmicrobial growth when stored at room temperature in a sealed bag. Theheating procedure does not destroy bacillus spores, and these would bethe source of the colonies seen in the blood agar at day 1 and 2 in theformulation containing guar and xanthan gums. It is clear, however, thatbacilli were not multiplying in the formulation itself, because numbersdid not increase with time. The organisms present in the rice and corngruel included Gram negative rods, Gram positive cocci and yeast.

The formulation made with soybean meal (11%), corn meal (15%), cornstarch (2%), dehydrated egg white (6%) and stabilized with citric (1%)and propionic (0.5%) acids was also tested for stability to microbialgrowth. Samples were stored for 9 weeks without showing any indicationof microbial growth when tested on blood agar and MacConkey agar. Therewas no mold growth evident on the samples and no indication ofseparation of water from the high moisture solid over this period oftime.

                                      TABLE 10                                    __________________________________________________________________________    Microbial Growth of a 1:1000 Dilution of Formulation                          Number of Colonies in 0.1 ml of a 1:1000 Dilution                             Whole Egg       Guar & Xanthan Gums                                                                       Rice & Corn Gruel                                 Day Blood Agar                                                                          MacConkey                                                                           Blood Agar                                                                          MacConkey                                                                           Blood Agar                                                                          MacConkey                                   __________________________________________________________________________    Day 1                                                                             0     0     1     0     4     0                                           Day 3                                                                             0     0     2     0     1067  53                                          Day 5                                                                             0     0     0     0     1000  0                                           Day 9                                                                             0     0     0     0     1100  90                                          __________________________________________________________________________

EXAMPLE 11

This example shows the proximate analysis of several high moisturesolids in comparison to mixtures of rice and various grains with as muchwater as the combination will hold (excess water poured off). Values forcarbohydrates are obtained by difference. Performance studies using livebirds have indicated that the optimum protein level in a high moisturesolid fed to day old birds is 10-11%. Using dry matter levels of 33%,feeding a level of 10% protein and 20% carbohydrate in a high moisturesolid resulted better day 6 gain and feed conversion results (Example 8)than did a rice and corn mixture containing 4% protein and 35%carbohydrate. A protein level of 10% is not possible using a mixturebased on a whole grain and rice or whole grain alone, even with 100% drymatter. Even if the grain were relatively high in protein, such as wheat(maximum 15%), protein levels higher than 7-8% would not be possible ina mixture containing 50% water. With a mixture of wheat and water, aprotein level of 10.5% would require 70% dry matter. The results arepresented in Table 11.

                  TABLE 11                                                        ______________________________________                                        Proximate Analysis of Formulations of Corn and Soybean Meal and               Containing Dehydrated Egg White to Bind the Water in Comparison to            Various Rice, Corn and Water Mixtures.                                                   Proximate Analysis                                                              Carbohydrate                                                                             Protein Fat Ash  Water                                Formulation  %          %       %   %    %                                    ______________________________________                                        Soy Meal, Corn Meal &                                                                      19.1       10.3    .7  1.0  68.4                                 Dehydrated Egg White                                                          Soy Meal, Corn Meal &                                                                      20.0       9.4     2.2 1.0  66.8                                 Whole Egg                                                                     Soy Meal, Corn Meal &                                                                      23.7       10.7    .2  1.2  63.4                                 Guar/Xanthan Gum                                                              Rice         33.8       3.1     .8  .2   62.1                                 Corn         41.9       4.5     2.1 .6   50.2                                 Rice and Corn                                                                              34.6       3.9     1.3 .4   41.0                                 Rice and Oats                                                                              25.5       4.3     1.2 .5   68.5                                 Oats, Rice, Rye, Wheat,                                                                    15.4       3.7     1.1 .5   74.8                                 Triticale and Buckwheat                                                       ______________________________________                                    

EXAMPLE 12

The objective of this experiment was to determine the optimum ratio offat, protein, and carbohydrate in a formulation with a 25% solidscomposition. An experimental design was generated to meet the statedobjective and it was implemented as a 96 pen, 41 day study. In thisstudy, 1-4 day old chicks were fed the formulation or were fasted for 48hours. The results are present in FIG. 1. The performance parameterillustrated in FIG. 1 is the estimated feed conversion for a 2 kgbroiler at 41 days. A response surface model was made for feedconversion corrected to a constant live weight. It was found that fathad a large negative impact on performance. The birds treated withgreater than 5% fat showed losses in live weight and increased feedconversion. The best performance for this 25% dry matter formulationoccurred with the protein and carbohydrate treatments where the birdsexhibited body weight corrected feed conversions of 1.72-1.73. Mortalitywas lowest at 21 days for treatments with higher levels of protein, andhighest with treatments that contained significant amounts of fat. Datafrom this experiment indicate that the optimum digestible carbohydratelevel is above 8%.

EXAMPLE 13

Early mortality in turkey poults is a particular problem in thisindustry. It is ascribed to a number of factors, including failure ofthe birds to ingest feed and water ad libitum due to an excessively longtime between hatch and placement. In this experiment, groups of one tofour day old turkey poults were fed a 33% dry matter formulationcontaining less than 1% fat, 9-10% protein, and 22-23% carbohydrates, orwere fasted and deprived of water for either 24 or 48 hours. On apercent dry matter basis, the formulation contained 44% corn meal, 6%corn starch, 36% soybean meal, 11% dehydrated egg white, 2% fumaricacid, and 1.5% propionic acid. As a percentage of the total formulation,this equated to 15% corn meal, 2% corn starch, 12% soybean meal, 3.6%dehydrated egg white, 0.7% fumaric acid, and 0.5% propionic acid.Afterwards, the birds were given a conventional feed formulation. Asshown in FIG. 2, the performance of birds on this regime showeddifferences in 7, 14, and 21 day cumulative mortalities: birds fastedfor 24 hours showed mortalities greater than those given formulation for24 hours. This was further accentuated when birds were fasted or givenformulation for 48 hours. In the group fasted for 48 hours, earlymortality reached almost 20% by day 21, whereas birds given formulationover the same time period showed the least cumulative 21 day mortalityin the study, i.e., less than 10%.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of theinvention are achieved.

As various changes could be made in the above compositions and processeswithout departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended thatall matter contained in the above description be interpreted asillustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A process for enhancing the health, livability,cumulative weight gain, or feed conversion efficiency of poultry,comprising making available to poultry hatchlings for consumption adlibitum a high moisture material before said poultry hatchlings areoffered dry food ad libitum, the high moisture material comprising waterand a dry matter fraction,wherein said high moisture material contains,on a percent weight basis of the total composition:at least about 20%water; about 8.5% to about 18.5% carbohydrate; about 6.5% to about15.77% amino acid source; and 0% to about 4.44% fat, wherein the waterretention capacity of said high moisture material is such that it doesnot release free water in an amount sufficient to dampen said poultryhatchlings as a consequence of their coming into contact with it.
 2. Theprocess of claim 1, wherein said high moisture material contains atleast about 40% by weight water.
 3. The process of claim 1, wherein saidhigh moisture material contains at least about 50% by weight water. 4.The process of claim 1, wherein said high moisture material containsbetween about 50% and about 85% by weight water.
 5. The process of claim1, wherein said high moisture material contains between about 60% andabout 80% by weight water.
 6. The process of claim 1, wherein saidcarbohydrate is selected from the group consisting of corn starch, wheatstarch, modified corn starch, a gum, whole, ground, cracked, milled,rolled, extruded, pelleted, defatted, dehydrated, solvent extracted, orother processed form of corn or wheat, and mixtures thereof.
 7. Theprocess of claim 6, wherein said gum is selected from the groupconsisting of agar, algin, carrageenan, gum arabic, gum ghatti, gumtragacanth, guar gum, locust bean gum, and pectin.
 8. The process ofclaim 1, wherein said amino acid source is selected from the groupconsisting of methionine, tryptophan, threonine, arginine, lysine,2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoic acid, a salt of2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoic acid, serum proteins, casein, soybeanmeal, fishmeal, meat meal, egg white, egg yolk, eggs without shells, andmixtures thereof.
 9. The process of claim 1, wherein said fat is anisolated plant oil.
 10. The process of claim 1, wherein:saidcarbohydrate is selected from the group consisting of corn starch, wheatstarch, modified corn starch, a gum, whole, ground, cracked, milled,rolled, extruded, pelleted, defatted, dehydrated, solvent extracted, orother processed form of corn or wheat, and mixtures thereof; said aminoacid source is selected from the group consisting of methionine,tryptophan, threonine, arginine, lysine,2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoic acid, a salt of2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoic acid, serum proteins, casein, soybeanmeal, fishmeal, meat meal, egg white, egg yolk, eggs without shells, andmixtures thereof; and said fat is an isolated plant oil.
 11. The processof claim 10, wherein said high moisture material contains between about60% and about 80% by weight water.
 12. The process of claim 1, whereinthe weight ratio of all digestible carbohydrate to all amino acidsources in said high moisture material is between about 0.6:1 and about3:1, respectively.
 13. The process of claim 11, wherein the weight ratioof all digestible carbohydrate to all amino acid sources in said highmoisture material is between about 0.6:1 and about 3:1, respectively.14. The process of claim 1, wherein the dry matter fraction of said highmoisture material further contains between about 0.1% and about 10% byweight of an additive selected from the group consisting of a vitamin, amineral, an enzyme co-factor, a growth promoter, a receptor, a transferfactor, a chelator, a complexing agent, a palatability modifier, adigestion aid, a peptide, a hormone, a prostaglandin, a steroid, anantibiotic, an antioxidant, an immunoactive agent, a direct fedmicrobial, and mixtures thereof.
 15. The process of claim 14, whereinsaid digestion aid is selected from the group consisting of an enzyme, abile salt, cholesterol, a micelle, a surfactant, and an emulsifyingagent.
 16. The process of claim 15, wherein said enzyme is selected fromthe group consisting of a gastrointestinal system enzyme, keratinase,and a mixture thereof.
 17. The process of claim 16, wherein saidgastrointestinal system enzyme is selected from the group consisting ofa lipase, an amylase, a maltase, pepsin, and trypsin.
 18. The process ofclaim 14, wherein said digestion aid is present in an amount betweenabout 0.01% and about 5% by weight of the dry matter fraction of saidhigh moisture material.
 19. The process of claim 14, wherein said directfed microbial is selected from the group consisting of bacteria, yeast,molds, and mixtures thereof.
 20. The process of claim 19, wherein saidbacteria are members of genera selected from the group consisting ofLactobacillus, Lactococcus, Enterococcus, Bacillus and Streptococcus.21. The process of claim 20, wherein:said members of the genusLactobacillus are selected from the group consisting of Lactobacillusreuteri, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus,Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus casei, and Lactobacillus lactis;said members of the genus Lactococcus are selected from the groupconsisting of Lactococcus lactis, Lactococcus thermophilus, andLactococcus diacetylactis; said Enterococcus is Enterococcus faecium;said members of the genus Bacillus are selected from the groupconsisting of Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus toyoi; and saidStreptococcus is Streptococcus faecium.
 22. The process of claim 19,wherein said yeast or mold is selected from the group consisting ofSaccharomyces cerevisiae, Aspergillus oryzae, and Torulopsis spp. 23.The process of claim 19, wherein:said bacteria are present in an amountof at least about 10² colony forming units per gram of said highmoisture material; and said yeast is present in an amount of at leastabout 10 colony forming units per gram of said high moisture material.24. The process of claim 14, wherein:said immunoactive agent is animmunomodulator; said peptide is selected from the group consisting ofepidermal growth factor, transforming growth factor,granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor, erythropoietin,bombesin, fibroblast growth factor, keratinocyte growth factor, nervegrowth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor, and insulin-likegrowth factor; said steroid is a glucocorticoid steroid; said hormone isselected from the group consisting of an estrogen, insulin, glucagon,gastrin, calcitonin, and somatotropin; said antibiotic is selected fromthe group consisting of bacitracin, bacitracin methylenedisalicylate,lincomycin, and virginiamycin; said antioxidant is selected from thegroup consisting of ethoxyquin, tocopherol, butylated hydroxytoluene,butylated hydroxyanisole, vitamin C, and glutathione; and saidpalatability modifier is selected from the group consisting of foodcoloring, grit, oyster shell, whole seeds, and grains.
 25. The processof claim 24, wherein said immunomodulator is selected from the groupconsisting of a cytokine, a vaccine, an immunoglobulin, an antigen, akilled cell, an attenuated strain, a toxin, and an adjuvant.
 26. Theprocess of claim 1, wherein said high moisture material retainssubstantially all of its water under the conditions in which it isprovided to said poultry hatchlings.
 27. The process of claim 1, whereinsaid high moisture material retains at least 80% of its water whenexposed to a temperature of 80° C. and a relative humidity of 70% for 24hours.
 28. The process of claim 1, wherein said high moisture materialis in the form of an extrudate.
 29. The process of claim 1, wherein saidmaking available to said poultry for consumption ad libitum said highmoisture material is performed by a process selected from the groupconsisting of:placing said high moisture material in an incubator alongwith poultry eggs, thereby making said high moisture material availableto said poultry hatchlings upon hatching; providing said high moisturematerial to said poultry hatchlings prior to placing said poultryhatchlings in a container for shipment to a poultry farm; placing saidhigh moisture material along with said poultry hatchlings in a containerfor shipment of said poultry hatchlings to a poultry farm; and providingsaid high moisture material to said poultry hatchlings after they havebeen shipped from the site where they were hatched to a remote location.30. The process of claim 1, wherein said making available forconsumption ad libitum said high moisture material is performed byplacing said high moisture material in an incubator along with poultryeggs, thereby making said high moisture material available to saidpoultry hatchlings upon hatching.
 31. The process of claim 1, whereinsaid making available for consumption ad libitum said high moisturematerial is performed by providing said high moisture material to saidpoultry hatchlings prior to placing said poultry hatchlings in acontainer for shipment to a poultry farm.
 32. The process of claim 1,wherein said making available for consumption ad libitum said highmoisture material is performed by placing said high moisture materialalong with said poultry hatchlings in a container for shipment of saidpoultry hatchlings to a poultry farm.
 33. The process of claim 1,wherein said poultry hatchlings are chicken hatchlings.
 34. The processof claim 1, wherein said poultry hatchlings are within seven days afterhatching.
 35. The process of claim 1, wherein said high moisturematerial contains, on a percent weight basis of the total composition:atleast about 20% water; about 11.45% to about 16.45% of saidcarbohydrate; about 8.65% to about 13.85% of said amino acid source; and0% to about 1.67% of said fat.
 36. The process of claim 35, wherein:saidcarbohydrate is selected from the group consisting of corn starch, wheatstarch, modified corn starch, a gum, whole, ground, cracked, milled,rolled, extruded, pelleted, defatted, dehydrated, solvent extracted, orother processed form of corn or wheat, and mixtures thereof; said aminoacid source is selected from the group consisting of methionine,tryptophan, threonine, arginine, lysine,2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoic acid, a salt of2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoic acid, serum proteins, casein, soybeanmeal, fishmeal, meat meal, egg white, egg yolk, eggs without shells, andmixtures thereof; and said fat is an isolated plant oil.
 37. The processof claim 36, wherein said gum is selected from the group consisting ofagar, algin, carrageenan, gum arabic, gum ghatti, gum tragacanth, guargum, locust bean gum, and pectin.
 38. The process of claim 36, whereinsaid high moisture material contains between about 60% and about 80% byweight water.
 39. The process of claim 38, wherein the weight ratio ofall digestible carbohydrate to all amino acid sources in said highmoisture material is between about 0.6:1 and about 3:1, respectively.40. The process of claim 35, wherein the dry matter fraction of saidhigh moisture material further contains between about 0.1% and about 10%by weight of an additive selected from the group consisting of avitamin, a mineral, an enzyme co-factor, a growth promoter, a receptor,a transfer factor, a chelator, a complexing agent, a palatabilitymodifier, a digestion aid, a peptide, a hormone, a prostaglandin, asteroid, an antibiotic, an antioxidant, an immunoactive agent, a directfed microbial, and mixtures thereof.
 41. The process of claim 35,wherein said high moisture material is in the form of an extrudate. 42.A process for enhancing the health, livability, cumulative weight gain,or feed conversion efficiency of poultry or other animals, comprisingmaking available for consumption ad libitum to poultry hatchlings orother animals a high moisture material comprising water and drymatter,wherein said high moisture material contains, on a percent weightbasis of the total composition:about 60% to about 80% water; about 8.5%to about 18.5% carbohydrate comprising corn meal and corn starch; andabout 6.5% to about 15.77% amino acid source comprising soybean meal andegg white or whole eggs without shells, before said poultry hatchlingsor other animals are offered dry food ad libitum.
 43. The process ofclaim 42, wherein said making available for consumption ad libitum topoultry hatchlings said said high moisture material is performed byplacing said high moisture material along with said poultry hatchlingsin a container for shipment of said poultry hatchlings to a poultryfarm.
 44. A process for enhancing the health, livability, cumulativeweight gain, or feed conversion efficiency of poultry or other animals,comprising making available for consumption ad libitum to poultryhatchlings or other animals a high moisture material comprising waterand dry matter,wherein said high moisture material contains, on apercent weight basis of the total composition:about 60% to about 80%water; about 8.5% to about 18.5% carbohydrate comprising corn meal andcorn starch; and about 6.5% to about 15.77% soybean meal, before saidpoultry hatchlings or other animals are offered dry food ad libitum. 45.The process of claim 44, wherein said making available for consumptionad libitum to poultry hatchlings said high moisture material isperformed by placing said high moisture material along with said poultryhatchlings in a container for shipment of said poultry hatchlings to apoultry farm.
 46. A process for enhancing the health, livability,cumulative weight gain, or feed conversion efficiency of poultry orother animals, comprising making available for consumption ad libitum topoultry hatchlings or other animals a high moisture material comprisingwater and dry matter,wherein said high moisture material contains, on apercent weight basis of the total composition: about 60% to about 80%water; about 8.5% to about 18.5% carbohydrate comprising corn meal andcorn starch; and about 6.5% to about 15.77% amino acid source comprisingsoybean meal and egg white or whole eggs without shells, before saidpoultry hatchlings or other animals are offered dry food ad libitum. 47.The process of claim 46, wherein said making available for consumptionad libitum said high moisture material is performed by placing said highmoisture material along with said poultry hatchlings in a container forshipment of said poultry hatchlings to a poultry farm.
 48. The processof claim 47, wherein said high moisture material further contains a foodcoloring and an acid stabilizer.
 49. The process of claim 48, whereinsaid acid stabilizer is selected from the group consisting of citricacid, fumaric acid, propionic acid, and phosphoric acid.
 50. The processof claim 44, wherein said high moisture material further contains a foodcoloring and an acid stabilizer.
 51. The process of claim 50, whereinsaid acid stabilizer is selected from the group consisting of citricacid, fumaric acid, propionic acid, and phosphoric acid.
 52. The processof claim 45, wherein said high moisture material further contains a foodcoloring and an acid stabilizer.
 53. The process of claim 52, whereinsaid acid stabilizer is selected from the group consisting of citricacid, fumaric acid, propionic acid, and phosphoric acid.
 54. The processof claim 46, wherein said high moisture material further contains a foodcoloring and an acid stabilizer.
 55. The process of claim 54, whereinsaid acid stabilizer is selected from the group consisting of citricacid, fumaric acid, propionic acid, and phosphoric acid.
 56. A processfor enhancing the health, livability, cumulative weight gain, or feedconversion efficiency of poultry, comprising making available to saidpoultry for consumption ad libitum a high moisture material before saidpoultry are offered dry food ad libitum, the high moisture materialcomprising water and a dry matter fraction,wherein said high moisturematerial contains, on a percent weight basis of the total composition:atleast about 20% water; about 8.5% to about 18.5% carbohydrate; about6.5% to about 15.77% amino acid source; and 0% to about 4.44% fat,wherein the water retention capacity of said high moisture material issuch that it does not release free water in an amount sufficient todampen poultry hatchlings as a consequence of their coming into contactwith it, and wherein said high moisture material is made available tosaid poultry for consumption ad libitum by extruding said high moisturematerial to a location where it can be consumed by said poultry or otheranimals.
 57. The process of claim 56, wherein said high moisturematerial contains between about 50% and about 85% by weight water. 58.The process of claim 56, wherein said high moisture material containsbetween about 60% and about 80% by weight water.
 59. The process ofclaim 56, wherein:said carbohydrate is selected from the groupconsisting of corn starch, wheat starch, modified corn starch, a gum,whole, ground, cracked, milled, rolled, extruded, pelleted, defatted,dehydrated, solvent extracted, or other processed form of corn or wheat,and mixtures thereof; said amino acid source is selected from the groupconsisting of methionine, tryptophan, threonine, arginine, lysine,2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoic acid, a salt of2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoic acid, serum proteins, casein, soybeanmeal, fishmeal, meat meal, egg white, egg yolk, eggs without shells, andmixtures thereof; and said fat is an isolated plant oil.
 60. The processof claim 56, wherein the dry matter fraction of said high moisturematerial further contains between about 0.1% and about 10% by weight ofan additive selected from the group consisting of a vitamin, a mineral,an enzyme co-factor, a growth promoter, a receptor, a transfer factor, achelator, a complexing agent, a palatability modifier, a digestion aid,a peptide, a hormone, a prostaglandin, a steroid, an antibiotic, anantioxidant, an immunoactive agent, a direct fed microbial, and mixturesthereof.
 61. The process of claim 56, wherein said making available forconsumption ad libitum said high moisture material to said poultry isperformed by placing said high moisture material along with said poultryhatchlings in a container for shipment of said poultry hatchlings to apoultry farm.
 62. A process for enhancing the health, livability,cumulative weight gain, or feed conversion efficiency of poultry orother animals, comprising making available to said poultry forconsumption ad libitum a high moisture material before said poultry areoffered dry food ad libitum, the high moisture material comprising waterand a dry matter fraction,wherein said high moisture material containsbetween about 30% and about 90% by weight water and between about 10%and about 70% dry matter based upon the weight of said high moisturematerial, wherein said dry matter contains between about 10% and about90% by weight carbohydrate based upon the weight of said dry matter, andwherein the water retention capacity of said high moisture material issuch that it does not release free water in an amount sufficient todampen poultry hatchlings as a consequence of their coming into contactwith it.
 63. A process for enhancing the health, livability, cumulativeweight gain, or feed conversion efficiency of poultry or other animals,comprising making available to said poultry or other animals forconsumption ad libitum a high moisture material containing, on a percentweight basis of the total composition:67% water; 22 to 23% carbohydrate;9-10% amino acid source; and less than 1% fat, before said poultry orother animals are offered dry food ad libitum, wherein the waterretention capacity of said high moisture material is such that it doesnot release free water in an amount sufficient to dampen said poultry asa consequence of their coming into contact with it.
 64. The process ofclaim 63, wherein:said carbohydrate is selected from the groupconsisting of corn starch, wheat starch, modified corn starch, a gum,whole, ground, cracked, milled, rolled, extruded, pelleted, defatted,dehydrated, solvent extracted, or other processed form of corn or wheat,and mixtures thereof.
 65. The process of claim 64, wherein said gum isselected from the group consisting of agar, algin, carrageenan, gumarabic, gum ghatti, gum tragacanth, guar gum, locust bean gum, andpectin.
 66. The process of claim 63, wherein:said amino acid source isselected from the group consisting of methionine, tryptophan, threonine,arginine, lysine, 2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoic acid, a salt of2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoic acid, serum proteins, casein, soybeanmeal, fishmeal, meat meal, egg white, egg yolk, eggs without shells, andmixtures thereof.
 67. The process of claim 63, wherein said fat is anisolated plant oil.
 68. The process of claim 63, wherein said highmoisture material further contains between about 0.1% and about 10% byweight of an additive selected from the group consisting of a vitamin, amineral, an enzyme co-factor, a growth promoter, a receptor, a transferfactor, a chelator, a complexing agent, a palatability modifier, adigestion aid, a peptide, a hormone, a prostaglandin, a steroid, anantibiotic, an antioxidant, an immunoactive agent, a direct fedmicrobial, and mixtures thereof.
 69. The process of claim 63, whereinsaid high moisture material is in the form of an extrudate.
 70. Theprocess of claim 63, wherein:said carbohydrate is a mixture of corn mealand corn starch; and said amino acid source is a mixture of soybean mealand egg white.
 71. The process of claim 63, wherein said poultry areturkey poults.
 72. The process of claim 71, wherein said turkey poultsare one to four days old.
 73. The process of claim 63, wherein saidmaking available to said poultry said high moisture material forconsumption ad libitum is performed by a process selected from the groupconsisting of:placing said high moisture material in an incubator alongwith poultry eggs, thereby making said high moisture material availableto said poultry upon hatching; providing said high moisture material tosaid poultry prior to placing said poultry in a container for shipmentto a poultry farm; placing said high moisture material along with saidpoultry in a container for shipment of said poultry to a poultry farm;and providing said high moisture material to said poultry hatchlingsafter they have been shipped from the site where they were hatched to aremote location.
 74. The process of claim 63, wherein said makingavailable to said poultry said high moisture material for consumption adlibitum is performed by placing said high moisture material along withsaid poultry in a container for shipment of said poultry to a poultryfarm.
 75. A process for enhancing the health, livability, cumulativeweight gain, or feed conversion efficiency of poultry or other animals,comprising making available to said poultry or other animals forconsumption ad libitum a high moisture material containing, on a percentweight basis of the total composition:67% water; 15% corn meal; 2% cornstarch; 12% soybean meal; and 3.6% dehydrated egg white, before thepoultry is offered dry food ad libitum, wherein the water retentioncapacity of said high moisture material is such that it does not releasefree water in an amount sufficient to dampen said poultry as aconsequence of their coming into contact with it.
 76. The process ofclaim 75, wherein said high moisture material further contains betweenabout 0.1% and about 10% by weight of an additive selected from thegroup consisting of a vitamin, a mineral, an enzyme co-factor, a growthpromoter, a receptor, a transfer factor, a chelator, a complexing agent,a palatability modifier, a digestion aid, a peptide, a hormone, aprostaglandin, a steroid, an antibiotic, an antioxidant, an immunoactiveagent, a direct fed microbial, and mixtures thereof.
 77. The process ofclaim 75, wherein said high moisture material is in the form of anextrudate.
 78. The process of claim 75, wherein said poultry are turkeypoults.
 79. The process of claim 78, wherein said turkey poults are oneto four days old.
 80. The process of claim 75, wherein said makingavailable to said poultry said high moisture material for consumption adlibitum is performed by a process selected from the group consistingof:placing said high moisture material in an incubator along withpoultry eggs, thereby making said high moisture material available tosaid poultry upon hatching; providing said high moisture material tosaid poultry prior to placing said poultry in a container for shipmentto a poultry farm; placing said high moisture material along with saidpoultry in a container for shipment of said poultry to a poultry farm;and providing said high moisture material to said poultry hatchlingsafter they have been shipped from the site where they were hatched to aremote location.
 81. The process of claim 80, wherein said makingavailable to said poultry said high moisture material for consumption adlibitum is performed by placing said high moisture material along withsaid poultry in a container for shipment of said poultry to a poultryfarm.
 82. A process for enhancing the health, livability, cumulativeweight gain, or feed conversion efficiency of poultry or other animals,comprising making available for consumption ad libitum a high moisturematerial to the poultry or other animals before the poultry or otheranimals are allowed to eat dry food ad libitum, the high moisturematerial containing between about 30% and about 90% by weight water andbetween about 10% and about 70% dry matter based upon the weight of thehigh moisture material,wherein the dry matter contains at least about10% by weight carbohydrate and between about 15% and about 50% by weightof an amino acid source based on the weight of the dry matter, andwherein the water retention capacity of said high moisture material issuch that it does not release free water in an amount sufficient todampen poultry hatchlings as a consequence of their coming into contactwith it.
 83. The process of claim 82, wherein:said carbohydrate isselected from the group consisting of corn starch, wheat starch,modified corn starch, a gum, whole, ground, cracked, milled, rolled,extruded, pelleted, defatted, dehydrated, solvent extracted, or otherprocessed form of corn or wheat, and mixtures thereof; and said aminoacid source is selected from the group consisting of methionine,tryptophan, threonine, arginine, lysine,2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoic acid, a salt of2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoic acid, serum proteins, casein, soybeanmeal, fishmeal, meat meal, egg white, egg yolk, eggs without shells, andmixtures thereof.
 84. The process of claim 82, wherein:said carbohydrateis selected from the group consisting of corn starch, wheat starch,modified corn starch, a gum, whole, ground, cracked, milled, rolled,extruded, pelleted, defatted, dehydrated, solvent extracted, or otherprocessed form of corn or wheat, and mixtures thereof; and said aminoacid source is selected from the group consisting of serum proteins,plasma, meat meal, casein, milk, blood, whey, bloodmeal, egg offal, eggwhite, egg yolk, eggs without shells, wheat protein, wheat germ, gluten,hydrolysates of serum proteins, hydrolysates of whey, hydrolysates ofblood meal, hydrolysates of blood, hydrolysates of egg offal,hydrolysates of egg white, hydrolysates of egg yolk, hydrolysates ofeggs without shells, and mixtures thereof.
 85. A process for enhancingthe health, livability, cumulative weight gain, or feed conversionefficiency of poultry or other animals, comprising making available tosaid poultry or other animals for consumption ad libitum a high moisturematerial before said poultry or other animals are offered dry food adlibitum, the high moisture material comprising water and a dry matterfraction,wherein said high moisture material contains, on a percentweight basis of the total composition: at least about 20% water; about8.5% to about 18.5% carbohydrate selected from the group consisting ofcorn starch, wheat starch, modified corn starch, a gum, whole, ground,cracked, milled, rolled, extruded, pelleted, defatted, dehydrated,solvent extracted, or other processed form of corn or wheat, andmixtures thereof; about 6.5% to about 15.77% amino acid source selectedfrom the group consisting of serum proteins, plasma, meat meal, casein,milk, blood, whey, bloodmeal, egg offal, egg white, egg yolk, eggswithout shells, wheat protein, wheat germ, gluten, hydrolysates of serumproteins, hydrolysates of whey, hydrolysates of blood meal, hydrolysatesof blood, hydrolysates of egg offal, hydrolysates of egg white,hydrolysates of egg yolk, hydrolysates of eggs without shells, andmixtures thereof; and 0% to about 4.44% fat, wherein the water retentioncapacity of said high moisture material is such that it does not releasefree water in an amount sufficient to dampen poultry hatchlings as aconsequence of their coming into contact with it.
 86. The process ofclaim 85, wherein said high moisture material contains between about 60%and about 80% by weight water.
 87. A process for enhancing the health,livability, cumulative weight gain, or feed conversion efficiency ofpoultry or other animals, comprising making available for consumption adlibitum to poultry hatchlings or other animals a high moisture materialcomprising water and dry matter,wherein said high moisture materialcontains, on a percent weight basis of the total composition: about 60%to about 80% water; about 8.5% to about 18.5% carbohydrate comprisingcorn meal and corn starch; about 6.5% to about 15.77% soybean meal; afood coloring; and an acid stabilizer selected from the group consistingof citric acid, fumaric acid, propionic acid, and phosphoric acid,before said poultry hatchlings or other animals are offered dry food adlibitum, wherein said making available for consumption ad libitum topoultry hatchlings said high moisture material is performed by placingsaid high moisture material along with said poultry hatchlings in acontainer for shipment of said poultry hatchlings to a poultry farm. 88.A process for enhancing the health, livability, cumulative weight gain,or feed conversion efficiency of poultry or other animals, comprisingmaking available for consumption ad libitum to poultry hatchlings orother animals a high moisture material comprising water and drymatter,wherein said high moisture material contains, on a percent weightbasis of the total composition: about 60% to about 80% water; about 8.5%to about 18.5% carbohydrate comprising corn meal and corn starch; about6.5% to about 15.77% amino acid source comprising soybean meal and eggwhite or whole eggs without shells; a food coloring; and an acidstabilizer selected from the group consisting of citric acid, fumaricacid, propionic acid, and phosphoric acid, before said poultryhatchlings or other animals are offered dry food ad libitum, whereinsaid making available for consumption ad libitum to poultry hatchlingssaid high moisture material is performed by placing said high moisturematerial along with said poultry hatchlings in a container for shipmentof said poultry hatchlings to a poultry farm.
 89. A process forenhancing the health, livability, cumulative weight gain or feedconversion efficiency of poultry, the process comprising makingavailable to poultry hatchlings for consumption ad libitum a highmoisture material containing at least about 40% by weight water and atleast about 8% by weight of a digestible carbohydrate before the poultryis offered dry food ad libitum, the high moisture material having acapacity for water-retention which is characterized by the absence ofthe release of free water from the high moisture material in an amountsufficient to dampen the hatchlings as a consequence of their cominginto contact with and consuming it.
 90. The process of claim 89 whereinthe digestible carbohydrate comprises a complex carbohydrate selectedfrom the group consisting of corn, rice, oats, barley, wheat, sorghum,rye, millet, cassava, triticale and tapioca or an isolated carbohydrateselected from the group consisting of corn, potato, wheat and ricestarches.
 91. The process of claim 89 wherein the digestiblecarbohydrate comprises a complex carbohydrate selected from the groupconsisting of corn and rice, or an isolated carbohydrate selected fromthe group consisting of corn and rice starches.
 92. The process of claim91 wherein the high moisture material is an extrudate.
 93. The processof claim 89 wherein the high moisture material is an extrudate.
 94. Theprocess of claim 89 wherein the high moisture material comprises atleast about 7% by weight of an amino acid source.
 95. The process ofclaim 94 wherein the digestible carbohydrate comprises a complexcarbohydrate selected from the group consisting of corn, rice, oats,barley, wheat, sorghum, rye, millet, cassava, triticale and tapioca oran isolated carbohydrate selected from the group consisting of corn,potato, wheat and rice starches.
 96. The process of claim 94 wherein thedigestible carbohydrate comprises a complex carbohydrate selected fromthe group consisting of corn and rice, or an isolated carbohydrateselected from the group consisting of corn and rice starches.
 97. Theprocess of claim 94 wherein the high moisture material is an extrudate.98. The process of claim 94 wherein the amino acid source comprisessoybean meal, isolated soybean protein, wheat protein, wheat germ,distillers grains, gluten, milk, blood, whey, blood meal, meatmeal,feathermeal, fishmeal, meat and bone meal, poultry offal, egg offal, eggwhite, egg yolk or eggs without shells.
 99. The process of claim 98wherein the digestible carbohydrate comprises a complex carbohydrateselected from the group consisting of corn, rice, oats, barley, wheat,sorghum, rye, millet, cassava, triticale and tapioca or an isolatedcarbohydrate selected from the group consisting of corn, potato, wheatand rice starches.
 100. The process of claim 98 wherein the digestiblecarbohydrate comprises a complex carbohydrate selected from the groupconsisting of corn and rice, or an isolated carbohydrate selected fromthe group consisting of corn and rice starches.
 101. The process ofclaim 100 wherein the high moisture material is an extrudate.
 102. Theprocess of claim 94 wherein the amino acid source comprises soybeanmeal, isolated soybean protein, wheat protein, wheat germ, egg white,egg yolk or eggs without shells.
 103. The process of claim 102 whereinthe digestible carbohydrate comprises a complex carbohydrate selectedfrom the group consisting of corn, rice, oats, barley, wheat, sorghum,rye, millet, cassava, triticale and tapioca or an isolated carbohydrateselected from the group consisting of corn, potato, wheat and ricestarches.
 104. The process of claim 102 wherein the digestiblecarbohydrate comprises a complex carbohydrate selected from the groupconsisting of corn and rice, or an isolated carbohydrate selected fromthe group consisting of corn and rice starches.
 105. The process ofclaim 104 wherein the high moisture material is an extrudate.
 106. Theprocess of claim 89 wherein the high moisture material comprises atleast about 20% by weight carbohydrate.
 107. The process of claim 106wherein the digestible carbohydrate comprises a complex carbohydrateselected from the group consisting of corn, rice, oats, barley, wheat,sorghum, rye, millet, cassava, triticale and tapioca or an isolatedcarbohydrate selected from the group consisting of corn, potato, wheatand rice starches.
 108. The process of claim 106 wherein the digestiblecarbohydrate comprises a complex carbohydrate selected from the groupconsisting of corn and rice, or an isolated carbohydrate selected fromthe group consisting of corn and rice starches.
 109. The process ofclaim 106 wherein the high moisture material is an extrudate.
 110. Theprocess of claim 106 wherein the high moisture material comprises atleast about 7% by weight of an amino acid source.
 111. The process ofclaim 110 wherein the digestible carbohydrate comprises a complexcarbohydrate selected from the group consisting of corn, rice, oats,barley, wheat, sorghum, rye, millet, cassava, triticale and tapioca oran isolated carbohydrate selected from the group consisting of corn,potato, wheat and rice starches.
 112. The process of claim 111 whereinthe digestible carbohydrate comprises a complex carbohydrate selectedfrom the group consisting of corn and rice, or an isolated carbohydrateselected from the group consisting of corn and rice starches.
 113. Theprocess of claim 112 wherein the high moisture material is an extrudate.